How Good Things Grow
by tempermental artist
Summary: Kisa is in high school, but she is still ignored and picked on. Luckily that's all about to change when she makes some new friends. But when Akito orders her to leave Hiro, Kisa starts to go through more than just puberty. Starts slow, but gets better.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

"You're a worthless rag doll!" Akito shouted, "One that has had its heart ripped out and re-sewed in a thousand times!"

Kisa sat and held her head and was on her knees crying.

"Hiro-san was a fool for even liking you!" he said coming down to her level.

He held up her quivering chin and studied her. Tears stained her cheeks, and there was a fresh rip in her school uniform.

"I'm… s-sorry." She whimpered.

"Don't be dear," he said smirking, locking eyes with her, "It's not your fault you're easy to use."

He practically threw her away as he got up to eat some soup. Kisa lay curled up on the floor staring out onto the lawn. It was so green; it had so many flowers. How could something so beautiful grow on such an evil place?

"What do you see?" he asked.

She was silent.

"What do you see?" he asked again, getting up and towering over her.

"I see…" but she trailed off.

"You can't see anything." He said turning away, "There's nothing there, Kisa. It's all in your imagination."

Now he was making fun of her. She placed a hand to her cheek where a bruise was forming. She slowly cried as Kureno came to retrieve her and take her to Shigure's house.

0o0

"Kisa-chan!" Tohru cried as she saw Kisa coming up the driveway.

"Onee-chan!" she exclaimed and hugged her as strongly as she could.

Kureno smiled and said to Tohru, "I guess that it'll be safe to leave her here?"

"Of course." She said nodding and taking her inside.

Kyo plunked Kisa on the counter as he opened the fridge.

"Hello Kyo-san!" she said merrily.

"I swear," he said looking at her from over the top of the milk carton, "You're turning into Tohru-kun more every day."

"Who's turning into me?" Tohru asked coming in from talking to Kureno.

"Kisa-chan here," he said taking out a glass.

"And you're turning into Mr. Politeness," Shigure said and then pinched his cheek, "Taking out a glass to drink from, just for Tohru-kun!"

"Eh?" she panicked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said calmly and then walked out with a package of Swedish Fish in hand.

'_I'm always in the way_,' Kisa thought sadly.

"Kisa-chan," Tohru said smiling, "would you like to help me with laundry?"

Kisa smiled and nodded, and Tohru led her out into the yard.

"Yuki-kun is at college-greeting meeting." She told her, anticipating Kisa's question. Yuki was now a sophomore and was attending the local college; he had become fairly poplar quickly.

"Well that's good for Kyo-san, then isn't it?" she said quietly. "He won't have to deal with Yuki-kun all day long."

Tohru laughed, "That was funny Kisa-chan! I love it when you're funny!"

Love. Kisa winced as the thought of what had happened minutes earlier flooded back to her. Kisa couldn't be loved… not by any one.

She turned to hide the tears from Tohru, but she saw them anyway.

"Kisa-chan, what's wrong?" she asked concerned.

"N-nothing." She said.

"C'mon," she said, "the laundry can wait a day."

"Where are going?"

"We're gonna go into town." Tohru said handing her a small list.

"What're we getting?"

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"That's a surprise." Tohru said smiling and leaving a note for Shigure and Kyo so that they wouldn't worry.


	2. Back to the Same Old Same

Chapter 2:

Kisa walked down the empty hallway in her new school uniform. Tohru had bought her a pair of shoes and a new blazer and skirt. Her backpack was filled with books, but she carried them like they didn't weigh a thing. She opened the door to her classroom and suddenly felt very exposed to the stares of her classmates.

"Hello Kisa-chan," the teacher said, "have a seat over there."

Kisa had been at Hatori's all morning, and he had called ahead of time to let them know that she was going to be late. Kisa walked over to the seat the teacher had indicated and everyone at the table scooted away from her. Even though she was in high school and in advanced classes, people still shied away from her.

"Now," the teacher continued, "the joining of molecules is caused by…"

Kisa tuned her out, she knew that already. She thought about Hiro in the class next door, struggling with basic earth science as she was taking biology. Hiro still smiled at her in the hallway, but it was Momiji or Hatsuharu usually walked her to class, Hatsuharu not so often though.

She began to doodle on her paper and it turned into a sketch of Akito's face. She shuddered and tried to quickly change it, but it was him no doubt about it. She could almost hear his voice mocking her. Her eyes started to fill with tears but she fought them back as the teacher decided to put up notes on the board for once.

Momiji and Hatsuharu were hits with the ladies in this school, even Kisa saw it, and she was usually a 'love-retard,' as she liked to call it around Tohru when they talked about boys. Momiji had suddenly grown a few feet and his voice had deepened, and then Hatsuharu, well he had control over the female population any way. In fact, there had been rumors of the little sisters of the 'Prince Yuki Fan Club' making a 'King Hatsuharu Fan Society'. Kisa smiled to herself as she thought about the group of girls following him everywhere.

'_Freaks_.' She thought as she was assigned a group with two other guys who looked at her expectantly.

"You're gonna do the work right?" one asked hopefully.

Kisa sighed, "Sure."

What a great way to spend her time, earning other people's grades while they just chatted and she did the work. That's always what happened. Always, no matter which classroom setting she was in… well except for gym, but that was because the boys didn't want the girls to break a sweat, so they took the ball from her when playing a game. Kisa didn't participate any way… not with the curse at least.

Kisa kept in thinking back to the garden at the Sohma estate. It was so beautiful, but it just seemed like it was in the wrong place. She thought that the Sohma place should be barren with bare tress that never grew. Dark clouds would hang over it, and it would rain every Saturday. Yes, that's what Sohma estate should look like.

"Kisa-chan, are you gonna do the work or not?" the boy asked.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "Sorry."

She felt very stupid and went to work on the molecule right away.

'_Connect that one with this one-I hate Akito-san- then that one there- why is he always yelling at me? - And then the blue one to the black one. Is that right? - He's mean. He's a slotch.'_ Kisa thought while connecting the colored balls to form glucose. (A/N: a 'slotch' is a word I made up that has the same effect of calling a girl a 'bitch' but you call a guy this. It is a cross between slob, slouch, slow, and a bit of 'bitch')

"There." She said showing them the completed molecule, "now you do the other one!"

"Umm…" one said.

"We don't' know how." The other said.

"Weren't you watching?" she asked cautiously.

"No." they laughed, "Looks like you have to make the other one."

Kisa wanted to hit them upside the head, but instinct pulled her back. She still had the curse, so her natural instinct after having it for so long was to shy away from confrontation with boys.

"Okay!" she said smiling and silently cursing them in her head. Why couldn't she ever do that?

'_Why can't I ever say what's on my mind? I am always holding back! I feel so weak… I guess I really am like a rag doll. I'm just so easy to use and throw away afterwards… I'm so stupid…'_

Kisa had to fight the tears and when she finished she asked her teacher for a pass to the bathroom. She smiled absently and walked down the hallway to the bathroom, took a stall, and began to cry. Kisa sat and cried until she heard people come in. They were talking about someone.

"I heard her mother's abusive." One was saying.

"Yeah, well I think that her dad's a drunk."

"No way!" the other exclaimed.

"Way." She was saying. "I swear, that Kisa girl has some issues." The second said.

Kisa sat on the toilet and suddenly everything was getting louder. She could hear her own heartbeat, ba-dum…ba-dum…ba-dum.. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. BA-DUM. BA-DUM. BA-DUM!

She clutched her head and tried to calm down. She was so weak and… '_I have to stay in control! I have to try! I must-_' everything went black.


	3. The Monster

Chapter 3:

Kisa opened her eyes blearily. Where was she? It smelled like Hatori-san's house… hmm…

"Good to see you're awake," Hatori said looking down at her.

"What happened?" she asked frantically, "I was in school and then I woke up here! I was in-"

"Kisa-kun," he said smiling, "I can't understand you."

"Wha-?" then she realized when she felt the whiskers on her cheeks twitch.

"Yes Kisa, you're in your animal form."

"But why?" she exclaimed. She tried to jump to her feet, but pounced on Hatori instead.

"Calm down," he told her, "I know that you haven't really been in this form for a while, but you have to try and act like a cat… a very large cat."

'_How could this've happened? I was just in school… what happened?'_

"Kisa-chan," he said gently picking her up, he's very strong seeing as how she was a **tiger**, "you have to wait here until you change back."

"Hatori-san!" a voice called, "I'm home!"

Momiji walked into the room. He stared at Kisa blankly.

"Kisa-chan!" he exclaimed after a few seconds running over to her and hugging her, she growled, "What's the matter?"

"I'M A TIGER FOR PETE'S SAKE!" she roared, literally.

"I'm sorry… but I don't understand you." He said.

'_No one does…'_ she thought sadly and buried her body under the blanket Hatori had given her.

"Go get Kyo-san." Hatori said.

"I doubt he'll come…" Momiji said negatively.

"I think I liked you better as a kid." He muttered.

"Hm?" Momiji asked.

"Nothing." Hatori said, "just go get Kyo-san."

"Okay!" he exclaimed, and bounded for the dojo.

Hatori sat in a rocking chair and leaned back.

"He's grown so much…" he said, "It feels like only yesterday you and him were out picking flowers for Hatsuharu-san when he was sick…"

Kisa's eyes filled with tears. Hatsuharu had a very bad case of mad cow disease, though he denies adamantly about it.

"I'm the _ox_." He'd protest.

They had to have Tohru come over every now and then to hug him so Hatori could cure Hatsuharu's animal. Lucky him… because Tohru had helped the spirit it had left him, but the spirit had told him that if he needed, he could change into Black Haru. Hatsuharu adjusted the quickest to it…

Kureno's spirit had left him just to spite Akito, but also because Kureno had fallen in love. Kisa cried a little more. Kureno and Uo were going to get married in two weeks, and he was currently meeting her father. How time flew, Uo would say

"… We started out as people going out to lunch and then, thank God, dinner, then after I graduated high school, I moved in with him." She had explained as she held hands with him at the New Year banquet.

Akito had been glaring at her the whole time. Memories hit her and she started to cry again.

"Kisa-chan?" Hatori asked.

She lifted her ears in acknowledgement.

"Can you tell me what happened that made you turn into a monster when you turn human?" he asked quietly.

'_What? A monster… that couldn't be…'_

"Kisa-chan?"

She just sat there and slowly lowered her head and cried.

0o0

"Kyo-kun!" Momiji cried as he burst into the dojo.

"On the roof." Someone muttered.

Momiji climbed up the stairs and walked out the door to the roof. It was around three, and the cool night air was heading in.

"What, Momiji-san?" he asked annoyed.

He was sitting with his shirt off, looking out towards Shigure's house.

"Are you looking in Tohru-kun's room?" he asked slyly.

"NO!" he protested.

"Right… and you just _happen_ to be looking in that direction then." He said crossing his arms.

"Go eat some sugary cereal that stuff you thrive off of."

"Ran out of it this morning."

"That would explain it."

"Explain what?" he asked.

"The fact that you came to the dojo, when I specifically told you _not_ to," Kyo told him.

"Oops…"

"Yeah right." He said, ''Now what'd ya want?"

"Hatori-san asked for me to come get you."

"What the hell for?" he asked.

"Kisa-chan… she went into her animal form."

"Why does he need me then?"

"I dunno," he said shrugging, "Hatori-san told me to tell you that he needed you."

"Fine." He said putting his shirt back on.

0o0

Tohru was in her room writing in her journal when she heard Kyo shout, she wasn't sure what, but it was definitely Kyo. She turned and saw Momiji and him on the roof of the dojo. Momiji visiting Kyo?- that wasn't something that happened everyday.

'_He must've run out of cereal… that would explain it… Momiji wouldn't dare go to the dojo if he'd had his cereal…' _she thought.

"Honda-san!" Yuki called from downstairs, "I'm home!"

"Hello Yuki-kun!" she called from the top of the stairs, "Dinner is already in the oven."

"Where's Shigure?" he asked walking up the stairs.

"He said he was going out to conduct research." She told him.

"That pervert." He muttered, then said to Tohru, "I'll be in my room doing _real_ research for a paper, can you bring up the food when it's ready?"

"Sure!" she said happily and went back into her room.

please R&R, thank you!


	4. Kyo's Bad Advice

Chapter 4:

"Kyo-san, she needs you." Hatori said when Kyo walked in the door.

Kyo looked at Kisa on the floor. He chuckled softly to himself and pulled the blanket off of her.

"Kisa-chan." Kyo said, "You need to wait a little bit more."

"Eh?" Hatori asked, "Why do we have to wait?"

"We need Tohru-chan." He said, "I'm guessing you want me to turn into my zodiac form, well I need Tohru-chan to do that."

Hatori cursed under his breath, "Momiji-kun, go and get Tohru-chan, please."

"Righty-o!" he exclaimed and bounded out the door.

Kisa looked up at Kyo and turned away from him.

"Kisa-chan," he said extending a hand, "I want to help you."

'_No you don't… no one does… not even onee-chan…'_ she thought.

'**_How can you think that? Onee-chan cares about you! Don't think like that!_**'_' _a voice exclaimed.

'_Who're you?'_

_'**I am your inner self!**' _

_'Well shut-up, I have enough problems to deal with right now…'_

_'**You don't just tell your inner self to shut-up! You just don't!**' _

_'Looks like I just did.' _

_'**Then there you go! Be like that when Akito-san is harassing you! C'mon, I know that you wanna curse him out!**'_

_'Go away…' _Kisa thought dejectedly as she tried to block out her own thoughts.

0o0

"Tohru-kun!" Momiji called from the doorway, "TOHRU-KUN!"

"Coming Momiji-kun," she said from upstairs.

Tohru hurried down the steps, "Yes?"

"Can you come with me back to Hatori-san's?" he asked.

"Umm… I do have dinner in the oven… Why?"

"Kisa-chan is in her animal form and we need you to hug Kyo-san so that he can turn into a cat and talk to her."

"Oh no! Kisa-chan turned into a tiger?" she exclaimed.

"What?!" Yuki said from the landing, "I'll shut off the dinner and leave Shigure-san a note."

"But Yuki-kun, your project…"

"Go! I'll catch up with you soon!" he told her, and shut the door in he face.

"C'mon," Momiji said pulling her towards Hatori's house.

"Momiji-kun, is that what you were doing at the dojo?" she asked as they slowed down.

"Mm-hm." He told her, "Kyo-kun was being a pervert because he was looking into your room."

"Oh…!" she said surprised and blushed.

0o0

"Kyo-kun!" Tohru exclaimed when she saw him standing in the doorway to Hatori's house.

"Hello Tohru-chan," he said guiding her inside.

"Tohru-chan is here," Hatori said to a lump under the carpet.

It looked like something perked up I under there.

"It's Kisa-kun," Momiji told her smiling, "I think that she's just being shy."

"Kisa-chan," Tohru said kneeling down and looking under the rug, "It's me… come out from under there silly!"

I noise escaped, and slowly Kisa emerged and looked Tohru straight on as a tiger.

Tohru paled, "My goodness, Kisa-chan, last time you were in that form you were a tiny kitten… now you're… you're…"

'_I'm big fat cat.' _She thought sadly.

'_**There you go again! Thinking so sadly, this means you've grown, and that people are noticing!**' _the voice told her angrily.

'_You sound like Akito-san on a good day… telling me how big I've grown,_' she told it.

"Kisa-kun," she heard someone say and then noticed Kyo was sitting in front of her as an orange cat, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied.

"When nothing is wrong you aren't in zodiac form, so spill." He told her.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

"You're a liar and you know it." He said.

"Fine! Some… some girls in the bathroom were talking about me…" she muttered.

"That's not all." He said, "I want everything Kisa-kun. _Everything_."

"Well, Akito-san was being such a jerk to me-"

"When isn't he?" Kyo asked.

"And he called me a worthless rag doll." She told him.

"So?"

"Kyo-san, you're not helping me." She said annoyed, "I want onee-chan, now."

"Tohru-chan is busy."

"Doing what?"

"Making sure that I stay in animal form."

"…I hate this family."

"Welcome to the club!" he said sarcastically.

"Kyo-san," Kisa said suddenly and looked right at him, "how do you deal with Akito-san?"

He sat and thought, "I dunno… I think I just ignore him"

"I can't do that, I've never been able to."

Kyo was surprised with her question, "Why are you asking me this?"

"Because, I want to be strong." She told him looking at the ground.

"Kisa-chan," he said sighing, "You are strong."

"No I'm not…" she whispered and didn't talk anymore.

Kyo waited until he would turn back into his human form to tell them… Still, how had she been able to turn into a monster? - The one that Kyo was? He looked at her and sighed, so much like Tohru, only Kisa showed her hurts.

He looked up at Tohru, _'Poor Tohru… she doesn't know a thing that was really happening in Kisa's life… I wonder what she'll say when she finds out…'_

"Kyo-kun," she laughed, "stop looking at me like that!"

Poor Tohru. Poor Kisa.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

"Kisa-san what?" Akito asked as he was slurping noisily a bowl of noodles.

"She turned into the monster… the cat monster…" Hatori stated.

Akito crossed the room to the open window and thought to himself. It was only two days since she'd been here… what had she seen back then? The birds were flitting from tree to tree and the flowers were in full bloom. A beautiful spring day it had been, but now it was gray and humid, the clouds threatened to rain heavily. I low rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance and Akito smiled quietly. This is what Kisa should see, hell.

"Bring her here," Akito spoke, "I want to show her something."

Hatori nodded solemnly, and left the room wanting much to have never had to go there. He wanted to get back to Kisa as soon as he could, but he had to maintain his duties to Akito if she had any prayer of surviving a simple head cold, much less turning into her zodiac form.

'_Kisa-chan is usually so much more careful than that.'_ he thought as he hunched his broad shoulders against the wind, _'What could've happened to cause this? An accident in the gym? What was it?'_

Hatori puzzled this as he headed towards his house and then he saw the smoke curling from Shigure's house… and then the flames.

0o0

"What happened?" he shouted to a firefighter as he was trying to extinguish the flames.

"We're not sure, I think that an oven was left on." He answered, grunting when the water came through the hose.

"Was there anyone in there?" Hatori asked.

"Nope, only a scared dog." He said.

Hatori spotted a gray dog cowering under a bush, "That's my friend's dog, I'll take care of it until he comes home," he lied, and then carried Shigure back to his house.

"What happened?" he hissed as they had left the scene.

"I don't know!" he cried, "I was trying to make dinner…"

"Oh God, Shigure-san! You burned down your own house!" Hatori stated.

"Obviously." Shigure muttered.

"I can drop you in a river, you know."

"And I can do the doggy paddle."

Hatori reached the door to his house and dropped Shigure in onto the carpeted floor. He took off his coat and ran a hand through his hair. What was he going to do with all these animals? There was Kyo on the floor, Kisa next to him, Momiji because he wanted some attention too, and then Shigure was now added to this bunch of fur balls…

"Hatori-san! What happened?" Tohru asked.

"A fire…" he said suddenly realizing that not only Shigure had been affected, but also Tohru and Yuki had as well. Thank goodness that Kyo had moved out or Hatori wouldn't ever hear the end of that.

"Oh my! Where?" she asked.

"Shigure-san's."

"Oh no!" she whimpered.

"My project!" Yuki wailed.

Kyo looked at him and snickered.

"Just because you go to a culinary school doesn't mean the rest of us don't have to have college educations that require work."

"What d'ya mean 'require work'?!" Kyo shouted, "Attending night school and having to bake gourmet for three hours takes an education! Not to mention I have a _job_."

"Stupid cat." Yuki said aiming to kick him, but Kyo dodged, and hissed at him.

"Don't mess with the cat!" he shouted triumphantly when Yuki dived for him, but he jumped back to avoid his arms and then Yuki fell flat on his face.

"Ow…" he said.

"Oh no! Yuki-kun!" Tohru cried and knelt down to help him.

Kyo shot Yuki a dirty look and Yuki flashed a grin right back. Kyo was even more enraged, why didn't Tohru love him? He turned into a human again and rushed to go put on some clothes.

"I hope you're proud of yourself." Kisa said suddenly.

They all turned to her.

"You can talk!" Momiji cried in bunny-form.

"I always could talk." She said annoyed, "I just didn't have anything to talk about… and now I do."

"What's wrong?" Tohru asked stroking behind her ears.

Kisa purred affectionately, "People at school… they don't treat me the same as everyone else."

"Well, you aren't the same as them." Hatori told her.

"I know, but I just wish that…" she tried to say but it wouldn't come out.

What did she want to say? Did she even understand it herself? All her hopes and dreams had been to just survive her childhood, but now that she was turning into a young woman it occurred to her that she was changing. That she had left behind her youth and was now a teenager, though her past was trailing her like a hungry dog.

'_A dog with rabies'_, she thought, '_It's like I have to make a new dream to live through this… but I can't. I can't succeed… I'm a worthless rag doll…'_

'_**What the hell did I tell you about thinking like that?**' _the voice in her mind demanded.

'_I don't even know who you are, so why should I be one to listen to you anyway?' _

'_**Because I'm the cat demon.**'_

'_Impossible,' _she thought calmly, _'the cat demon is in Kyo-kun._'

'_**Has he tried to remove his bracelet yet?**'_

_'No…'_

_'**Well ask him.**' _It told her.

"Kyo-san," she asked wearily, "can I see the bracelet?"

He looked at the beads on his wrist and then at her. His orange hair was longer now than ever because he hadn't had time to cut it, and his eyes studied her curiously.

"I don't think that's a good idea." He said shrugging off the question.

"It'll help me I think." She tried again.

"No…"

"Please!"

"No."

"PLEASE!" she was starting to growl and she noticed that her claws were digging into Hatori's carpet.

"Fine!" he cried and ripped them off quickly then waited for the scream of fear, the horrible stench of rotting flesh and then the reflection of him-self in her eyes… but it never came.

He exhaled a breath he hadn't know he was holding and looked at his skin… still skin! His hands were still hands, as were his legs still legs! What sort of curse was this? He could still turn into the cat but he was rid of the demon? How unfair.

"That would explain it." Hatori said thinking.

"Explain what?" Tohru asked.

"Why Kisa-san turned into the monster at school." He told her.

"Wow… I'm free." Kyo realized, "Oh my God…! I'm free!"

"Nice detective work there, ace" Yuki teased.

"Shut-up ya mouse."

"I'm the rat. Get it right and we just might say that you're smarter than a rock, Kyo-san."

The two boys glared at each other.

"Yuki-san, in there." Hatori ordered, pointing to a room adjacent to the living room. "Kyo-san, you go in there," and Hatori pointed to he bathroom.

"What?! I get the bathroom?" he protested.

"I'LL MAKE IT THE GARBAGE CAN IF YOU DON'T SHUT-UP!" he shouted, something rare for Hatori.

When the two boys had slunk into their designated time-out areas Hatori rubbed his temples and Kisa noticed the gray hairs that had started to grow. Age was starting to take its toll on him; he was now forty-five, almost forty-six.

"I haven't seen those two boys that obedient ever." Shigure commented, he changed back into his human form, "Dear friend, I need a place to stay now that my humble abode has been burned to ashes… could I-"

"Fine." Hatori snapped, but added a great degree gentler to Tohru, "You can live here too if you want."

"YAY! TOHRU-KUN IS GONNA LIVE HERE!" Momiji cried, bouncing up and down.

Hatori sighed, his headache from the weather was getting worse, '_Oh just let it rain!' _ He cried in his head.


	6. Speedy Time

AN/: thanks Valinor for the tip, i gotts correct the thing, Hatori is like 32! heh heh, please if you read, please review!

Chapter 6:

Kisa walked down the halls with her new bracelet on her wrist. Tohru had added a little red bow to it, giving it a more feminine touch. She had tied her hair back into a half ponytail and was wearing the uniform Tohru had washed for her. The people in the halls were busy talking to each other and she was just another face floating by them. Sometimes, it seemed, that being invisible was so much easier.

"Kisa-chan!" someone called.

She turned to see Hiro walking towards her grinning.

"Hiro-san!" she exclaimed when he pulled her to the lockers and kissed her, "What are you doing?"

"Something I should've done a while ago." He told her wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly.

"Hiro-san," she said slowly, "I don't know…"

Everything Akito had said and done to her was flooding back, all the way to her childhood. The days she'd spent in Hatori's house looking out the window up to the sky, wishing she were a bird and could escape.

"Kisa-chan," he said looking her in the eye, "I really need you right now."

He looked sincere, but something in her gut screamed "NO!"… But when had she ever listened to her gut?

"Okay." She said softly, and he kissed her right before the bell rang, signaling that they were late rang.

Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it would burst out of her chest, and her stomach felt like it was on a roller coaster. She had to close her eyes to clam down… She had a boyfriend!

'_**Wait'll Akito-san hears about this!**' _the voice commented.

_'So you're the cat demon?'_

_'**The one and only.**'_ It replied with a purr.

'_Why did you choose me?'_

_'**Because, you needed me.**'_

_'How did I need you?'_

_'**I dunno… I could just tell.**'_

0o0

"Kisa-chan! That's wonderful!" Tohru exclaimed when Kisa told her, "I can't believe he kissed you!"

Uo and Hanajima were over.

"Indeed, how curious," Hana commented.

"What's so odd, Hana-chan?" Tohru asked as Uo sipped her tea.

"The waves coming from him… they are most peculiar, even for a Sohma…" she told them.

"What do you mean?"

"They are bouncy… energetic and then angry, then depressed. Hiro-san is very moody…" she explained.

"Well, that's to be expected," Hatori stated, "He hasn't had the most stable of childhoods."

"Oh, Hatori-san! I hope it's okay that Hana-chan and Uo-chan are here. I don't want to be a bother!" Tohru said.

"No, no… it's fine." He said, "I just have to do some work, you girls are free to stay for dinner."

"Yes, our dear Tohru-kun is making something new!" Shigure said.

"Oh?" Kisa asked, "What're you making onee-chan?"

"It's nothing special, one of the girls from work told me it. It's an American dish… it's called hamburgers."

"You mean beef?" Hatsuharu asked looking up from his book.

"Well… I can change it to turkey if you want…" she said awkwardly.

Hatsuharu nodded and went back to his book.

Kisa turned to Uo, "Where are you and Kureno-san going for your honeymoon?"

"Eh?" she asked then grinned sheepishly, "We're going to Hawaii."

"Oh, Uo-chan! That's wonderful!" Tohru exclaimed.

The three girls talked eagerly about trips and souvenirs and Kisa slowly left the room, heading for the gardens in the center of the Sohma estate.

Four months later…

Kisa was walking past Akito's house going over to Shigure's (it had been re-built) when she heard shouting and cursing, it was Akito and Hiro! Hiro was lying on the ground staring out at the sky, probably wishing that he were a bird too. Kisa's heart flew out to her lover, and she wished that she could run over and comfort him, so instead she waited for him to come out.

"Hiro-kun!" she exclaimed hugging him when he was far enough away form Akito's that she felt it was safe.

He shrugged her off; his lip was bleeding as well as his temple.

"Oh no!" she cried and went to touch it.

"Don't touch me." He said darkly.

She stared at him and reached for his hand. Her fingers brushed against his and suddenly his fingers squeezed hers.

"I said not to fucking touch me." He told her and suddenly he was so angry with her.

"H-Hiro-kun…" she whispered as he grabbed her other hand and hauled her off the Shigure's.

Along the way he calmed down and apologized, he touched the spot on her knuckles where he'd squeezed so hard and tears filled his eyes. He leaned forward and was all of a sudden sobbing into her chest. She wrapped her arms around him and took all his hurt, all his pain. Hiro needed her, and she needed him.

"I'll see you in school okay?" she asked.

He nodded, "Bye."

She walked up to the door, what was she going tot ell onee-chan, because she was definitely going to notice.

"Kisa-chan!" she cried, "What happened to your cheek?"

"Akito-san." She lied, almost immediately, like second nature.

It went like this for a while… Hiro would come from Akito's and he would cry to her. Kisa was his savior she thought, and that was the only dream she needed for that time to survive.

0o0

"Kisa-chan," Akito said softly into her ear, it sent a chill up her spine, "I hear you and Hiro-san have been dating."

She paled.

"Do you deny it?"

"N-no…" she said, tears in her eyes, "I was gonna tell you… I just-"

He hit her hard across the face, and she was now lying, facing the same window, looking out onto the same lawn and hearing the same thoughts as last time. How could something so good, grow on something so bad?


	7. Volleyballs are Magnets

Chapter 7:

Kisa walked back and saw Hiro coming out of his house, but it was too late for her to try and hide the bruise forming on her arms and her cheek. He rushed over to her and cradled her head in his arms.

"Oh, Kisa-chan…" he said, "Did Akito-san do this to you?"

"Mm-hmm." She replied while crying into his arms.

"C'mon, I think that I know where Tohru-chan is." He said; sounding irritated at having to see Tohru.

_'That whiny brunette is going to kill us all if she keeps messing with the zodiac curse. It was a wonder Akito hadn't had her memories erased, not to mention her friends' too.' _He thought with disdain.

"Th-thank you, Hiro-kun," she said kissing his cheek.

"You are always welcome." He said softly and along the way to Shigure's house, he talked to her.

"I think… I think I love you Kisa." He said suddenly.

She looked at him, that was the first someone had used her name without an honorific (AN/: I didn't know if you knew, but I learned this recently, and I thought it would be cool to include this tid-bit of information: when someone doesn't use and honorific after your name in Japan, it typically means that you are very close and intimate with that person! XD).

"Hiro-kun," she said, but he cupped her chin in his graceful fingers and smiled at her.

"I know that you probably don't have those feelings yet, but I do, and I am willing to wait for you to have them before I try anything drastic."

Drastic?

"Hiro-kun… I'm flattered," she said and smiled back.

"Good, so do you want to go out on a date next weekend?" he asked.

"Umm… sure!" she said and he, avoiding with as much care as possible her sensitive cheek, kissed her.

"Hiro-kun," she said as they neared Shigure's house, "thank you."

He looked at her.

"For what?"

"For being there for me." She said, trying to forget the things that had just happened, but the thoughts of Akito kept on coming back like a reoccurring nightmare.

0o0

"C'mon Kisa-chan!" the girl cried, tossing her the ball to serve in their volleyball game.

There was a quiet groan from the rest of her team because Kisa was weak, it was a known fact, and the probability of her getting the ball over the net was very small. She tossed it up after feeling its worn skin under her fingertips and she smacked it with all her might, it barely made it, and the other team was so stunned that they couldn't move to hit it back when it came over. Kisa looked at her hands and felt a new confidence in her.

"Nice!" her team cried as she was given the ball and she made it over again.

"Go Kisa-kun!" they shouted as she hit three over, finally losing the ball on the fourth one.

"Wow Kisa-chan," a girl said clapping her on the back, sending her forward into someone.

"Watch it." They said turning to glare at her.

"Hey," the girl who had pushed her said, "it's not her fault. I was congratulating her, don't give her an attitude like that."

"Excuse me?" the other girl said whirling around, a sea of raven locks falling just into place as she glared at Kisa's savior.

"You heard me right," she continued, "leave Kisa-chan alone."

"Back off bitch, I'm not in the mood to beat you up today." She warned and stormed into the locker room.

"Please," Kisa said, "You shouldn't do that… you could get hurt."

"I'm Mai." She said shrugging, "and that girl, that's my sister, Kimaru."

"Oh…"

"Don't worry," she said then turned to her, "so, you wanna hang-out this weekend with me and my sister?"

"Umm…" Kisa thought, did she have any plans? "Oh that's right! I have a date with my boyfriend."

"Oh?" she asked, it was like they were close friends already.

"Yeah, Hiro Sohma."

"Oh! He's in my art class, a little bit of an attitude." She commented, "But I could see how you would like him."

"Huh?"

"He's outgoing," she said, "My sister, Kimaru-chan, she goes for that type too 'cuz in reality she's a big sissy."

"I HEARD THAT!" Kimaru called form the other side of the room.

"You'll see what I mean," Mai continued as if nothing had happened, "I mean she _really_ has self-esteem issues."

"WILL YOU QUIT TALKING ABOUT ME? IT'S NOT LIKE I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Kimaru protested.

"Oh get a back-bone you jelly fish!"

"IF DAD HADN'T TOLD ME THAT I COULDN'T STRANGLE YOU-"

"But he did, and therefore, you can't." Mai replied snidely.

"You're full of it." She replied slamming her locker shut.

"I know." Mai answered flicking her red hair over her shoulder, "So, where's your next period class?"

"Umm…" Kisa replied and gave the location of her next class, Biology, and the girl nodded impressed.

"You're smart, _and_ you can hit a volleyball, nice!" she teased.

Kisa smiled, was she her friend now? She wondered what Hiro ould think... or what if they found out about the monster...?

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! I need feedback, what should I do better? what should i fix? c'mon, help a poor author out! XD**


	8. First Date

Please, I beg of you two REVIEW!!!!!!!!! I need to know if you people like it, or what you think I could improve on!!!! so please, R&R!

Chapter 8:

Kisa sat in Tohru's new room; her hands were clasped tightly together as Tohru was digging around in her drawers for some f the make-up Hanjima had lent her. Kisa was in a short white lace dress with a black choker and matching fishnets with a leather jacket over her upper arms. She also had on the bracelet that was keeping the cat demon locked away and the white balls on it were the only things that matched.

"Here," Tohru said taking her hand and switching the red ribbon to a blue one, "I think that looks wonderful!"

"Thank you onee-chan!"

"For what?"

"For helping me with my outfit… I'm really nervous." Kisa said looking at the floor.

"Oh my-" Shigure said coming in, "Kisa-chan, you look marvelous!"

"Thank you, Shigure-senpai." Kisa said quietly, her stomach was in knots.

"Kisa-chan," Tohru said when Shigure left, "are you feeling well? You look pale."

"Oh?" Kisa said stiffening, "I'm not sick! Don't worry!"

"Okay, but I wonder…" Tohru said feeling her forehead, "your temperature seems to be normal… Oh well!"

"Onee-chan," Kisa said, "have you ever been on a date before?"

Tohru almost dropped the things she was holding, "Why?" she asked shakily.

"Well… I just wanted to know what to do when I'm with Hiro-kun."

"Oh!" Tohru said taking out some blush and started applying it, "Well… I suggest you don't order spaghetti."

"Huh?"

"Never order anything that has tomato sauce and thin pasta," Tohru advised, "and make sure you have gum, preferably mint flavored."

"How do you know all this?" Kisa interrupted as Tohru was telling her about never ordering anything with the possibility of getting it stuck in you teeth (i.e. spinach).

She suddenly had a pained look on her face and hurriedly began to brush Kisa's hair into a side part, "My mother… she told me this when I was little."

"Oh…"

"It's okay though," she said, then she spotted the bruise on Kisa's shoulder, "oh my! What happened?"

"Akito-san."

"Oh no!" Tohru said, "I thought that he didn't do that anymore."

"Says who?"

"Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun, they told me that he didn't do that anymore," she said covering her mouth in horror as other bruises where seen when Kisa took off the jacket she'd been wearing.

"Akito-san hits me as well as Hiro-kun like it's nothing." Kisa said looking at the floor.

"That's not… That's not right!" Tohru said as Kisa showed her where her hair had been pulled out.

"Akito-san did that to me when I told him that I had the demon in me."

"Oh-"

"I'm not finished," Kisa said, "he hit me hard in the gut once… so hard I thought I was gonna die."

"Kisa-chan…" Tohru said when Kisa leaned forward and began sobbing into Tohru's shoulder.

"I want… I want something to happen but I don't know what…" she cried.

'_Hiro-kun! Hiro-kun! I need you… where are you?'_

"Kisa-chan," Tohru said rubbing her back, "you have to be strong!"

"How can I?"

"You have to trust in yourself." Tohru said as the doorbell rang, "C'mon, dry those tears… I have a trick that calms down the puffiness."

"Thank you." She said as Tohru handed her a cold washcloth and showed her how to press it under her eyes with out causing the mascara (though water-proof) to run.

"Kisa-chan!" Shigure called up the staircase.

"Coming!" Kisa said, then hugged Tohru closely, "Thank you!"

0o0

Hiro had gotten reservations at a vegetarian restaurant… so much for ordering meat lasagna at the local Italian restaurant. This place was strictly vegan, no meat and no leather was permitted on the premises, which meant that Kisa had to shed her jacket.

"Here miss," the coat lady said as Kisa handed her the jacket (it was received with a pair of tongs), she was handed a black shawl as a replacement.

"Thank you," Kisa replied.

The heat was on, so she still had to remove the shawl, but luckily the lights were dim and no one could see her bruises; they were fading anyway. The server placed some bread on the table and filled their glasses with water.

"Will there be any other drinks?" he asked whipping out his pad.

"No thanks," Kisa said meekly.

"I'll have a soda." Hiro said.

The server practically sprinted to get the drinks, just so that he could free up the spot for a couple that wasn't a pair of teenagers. Kisa studied the menu and wondered what in hell was she going to talk about?

"May I take your order?" the server asked.

"Umm…" Kisa said, "I'll have yakisoba, stir fry noodles."

"For you?" the server asked, looking at Hiro.

"Okura No Nibitashi." He ordered and the man took their menus. (he just ordered eggplant I believe)

"So…" Hiro said as Kisa nibbled on a piece of bread, "what do you think?"

"Of what?" she asked panicking.

"The restaurant."

"Oh!" she said, "It's cozy… there's a noticeable lack of meat."

"Hence the vegetarian aspect," Hiro commented.

She laughed awkwardly, "I dunno, it's nice."

"Okay then, _you_ pick the next place we eat."

"Umm… how about that little café on the east side of town?"

"The one by the deli?" he asked raising his eyebrows.

"Yes! That one!" she nodded.

He shrugged, "Okay, when?"

Kisa suddenly realized; they were going on another date!

"Umm… next Wednesday?"

"Sure." He said taking her hands and holding them, "What ever you wish."


	9. Breaking Apart

Chapter 9:

Kisa was in Gym again, and was talking with Mai and Kimaru. She told them about the date and was immediately bombarded with questions.

"Oh my God, has he bought you anything yet?" Kimaru asked.

"Nope…"

"How long have you been going out?" Mai asked.

"Almost four months…"

"Really? Have you made-out yet?" Kimaru demanded.

Kisa grinned sheepishly, "Not yet. May be soon, though."

"He'd better hurry it up or he's going to become friends with my fist very quickly," Mai muttered.

A ball suddenly hit Kisa in the face. The picked it up and without flinching gave it back to the person who had thrown it. The group of girls gave her a sick grin and turned back to their little group.

"How rude." Mai said darkly.

"It's okay!" Kisa soothed, "It was an acci-"

Another ball hit her in the back of the head, and she lurched forward into Kimaru. Kimaru caught her and Mai was already over with the other group of girls, and by the look on the other girls' faces she was saying something very dirty and gory.

"There, all done." She said smiling when she returned to Kisa who was nursing a bloody nose.

"Oh, thanks Mai-chan!" she beamed.

"No problem, it's what friends do for each other." She said, "Let's get you to the nurse."

"Indeed, Kisa-chan." Kimaru agreed and they all headed down to the nurse's office.

**0o0**

"If I even hear that you two are seeing each other anymore, I will kill him." Akito hissed into her ear, "because what did I say about you?"

"That I'm a worthless rag doll." Kisa finished quietly.

"So what are you going to do the next time you see him?" he asked.

"I'll tell him-"

"NO! THERE WON'T BE A NEXT TIME!" he roared, and she swore she was deaf.

"Okay…" she whispered and curled into fetal position.

Akito grinned and left the room, not wanting to be bothered by her tears. Kisa felt all the hurt in her explode as soon as the door closed. She ripped off the bracelet and let the demon out, enjoying every second of destruction. She picked up chairs and threw them, broke a few of the windows and tore down the door leading to the outside. She ran until she was in that garden, the one growing on the Sohma estate.

Kisa growled at the flowers and ripped out a whole flowerbed, watching as the ground was upturned by her paw. This feeling of pure hatred… all of a sudden she wanted control again. She needed it badly, but the demon kept on rampaging, her cries were useless.

A little girl stood in front of her, staring. The demon stopped and studied the child. Kisa watched her expression change from confusion to recognition.

"Kisa-chan!" she exclaimed.

The demon reared, while Kisa smiled at Hiro's little sister. She was getting bigger, and she knew that it was Kisa.

"Kisa-chan," she said again, and reached her tiny hand and touched the demon's leg.

The child started to pet it, never wrinkling her nose at the smell or the feel of the skin beneath her. Slowly the demon's anger was quenched, and Kisa regained control, landing on top of a bed of orchids.

"Hey there Haruka-chan." She whispered as she passed out once again.

**0o0**

For the second time in her life Kisa was placed in a hospital. She looked down at the IV in her arm, fighting the urge to throw up. Her bracelet was left on after a long argument with the head nurse, which resulted in Kisa refusing to take her medicine if she wouldn't let her keep the bracelet on. She smiled quietly at her small victory, and thought that Tohru would be proud. Tohru had visited once already, even though she'd been there for a day.

"Oh Kisa-chan!" she had cried when she was let in.

Kisa had had her arm broken as well as her ankle twisted. He cheek was in a bandage, but that was because she had landed on a bee and it had stung her.

"Hello Onee-chan." She had replied.

Tohru had hugged her and then handed her a small stuffed animal, which was next to her bed when she started to drift off to sleep.

The nurse tapped on the door.

"Kisa-san, there is a boy here to see you." She called through the door, "Are you up to it?"

Kisa was wide-awake, her hands already sweaty.

"S-sure." She stammered, prepared for what she must now do.

Hiro walked through the door and handed her a bouquet of flowers. She sniffed them appreciatively; the right thing to do for when a boy gives you flowers.

"Hello, love," he said kissing her forehead, "I missed you so much."

"Aaaw, that's so kind of you." She answered.

"I love you." He said holding her hand.

Kisa bit her lip, and squeezed his hand.

"Hiro… I have to tell you something," she began, already choking on what she was about to say, "I… I can't see you anymore."

Hiro looked at her stunned and opened his mouth to say something, but no words could've formed if he'd wanted them to.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, the tears falling from her eyes.

He pulled his hand out of her grasp and backed out of the room, a look of horror and hurt on his face. She watched as he stumbled out the door and then tripped over a nurse, while a new set of tears fell down her face. What had she done?

She brought her knees in and clutched them, trying to figure out what to do. Where was her mother? Why hadn't she come to see her? Oh right… the curse. Kisa cursed in her head, wishing it would go away, that she didn't have to make Hiro go away like she just had.

"Hiro…" she whispered, her voice too soft for him to hear, "Hiro, I love you."


	10. Going Bad

Chapter 10

Kisa walked out of the hospital room slowly and made her way to the pay phones because she needed to hear Tohru's voice.

"Onee-chan?" she whimpered when Tohru picked up.

"Kisa-chan! What's wrong?" she exclaimed.

"I have done something terrible… I feel like shit." She said.

"Kisa!" Tohru cried, the first time hearing her curse.

"It's true, I feel like shit, but what's even worse is that I made Hiro-kun feel like shit too. I just… Akito-san made me…" Kisa couldn't finish her sentence because she was sobbing again.

"Kisa-chan, what did he make you do? Tell me!" she exclaimed.

"I… I can't… you'll hate me," She whispered, clutching the phone with white knuckles.

"No I won't," Tohru told her firmly, "You are family, and I never hate family. Tell me what's wrong."

"I… I just dumped Hiro-kun, onee-chan… and now he never wants to see me again." She sobbed.

"I'll be there in a second, don't worry, we'll sort this out."

"_No_, onee-chan. I did this to myself, I need to learn what to do." Kisa said in a voice too aggressive.

"I'm still coming, you are dear to me Kisa-chan, and I hate to see or hear you cry. I will be there in a few minutes, don't cry anymore please." She said, and hung up the phone with a quick goodbye.

Kisa went back into the room and stared out the window, hoping that Tohru would hurry, because the tears were getting really hard to fight. She leaned against the cool glass and closed her eyes, thinking of a garden. 'Garden Where Good Things Grow' it would be called and she would be allowed to do whatever she wished in there. She could run around or sniff the meadows full of sunflowers, then climb a sakura tree and wait till the evening when the fireflies came around.

Kisa would live in that garden, where all the good things grew and she would be a good thing too. She wouldn't have the demon in her; she would live in a tiny cottage with vines growing up the sides. She would have tea in the morning and then she would have honey on her toast from a beehive behind the house. She wished that she really could do that, just run away and create her garden of good things…

"Kisa-chan!" Tohru exclaimed and hugged her with all her might.

"Hello, onee-chan," she said smiling; the puff under her eyes was almost gone from the chill of the window.

"Oh, what happened?" she asked, sitting in a chair by the bed Kisa had.

"Well…" Kisa began, and explained to her everything that had happened.

Tohru cried in the appropriate parts, and laughed just the same. It was during this fest of emotions that Kisa realized something, she was nothing in Akito's eyes… and that bothered her.

She didn't want to be pushed around anymore without a just reason, and Hiro was not a just reason, nor was her family, nor was her schoolwork. No, she had to do something that changed her, something that would make Akito squirm… she wanted vengeance for what he had made her do to Hiro; and the one-thing women are exceptionally good at is getting revenge.

"Tohru," Kisa asked slowly, "I need to ask you something."

"What?" she asked.

"Well, I need to know if I can change… if I can go… bad." She said.

"Perhaps… I mean everyone has a bad streak in them; we just don't often give into it. I don't know if you have one though, unless it really was you who destroyed the main house the other day."

"I didn't _destroy _it per say," she stated smirking, then whispered slyly, "I let the cat demon do most of the work for me."

"Kisa-chan!" Tohru exclaimed in mock horror, "What did Akito-san do?"

"Nothing, I went into the garden and then saw Haruka-chan. She knew who I was… I thought that when I was in demon form people didn't know that it was me, though."

"Well Haruka-chan has a special ability," Hatori said entering the room, "I need you to leave please, Tohru-chan."

"Sure." She said smiling and hugged Kisa gently good-bye.

Kisa watched her leave and wanted to call for her to return, it had been the first time she'd not cried in hours. Hatori sat in her chair and looked at her.

"Well," he chuckled, "I did warn you."

If she was going to change she needed to start sometime, why not now?

"About?" she asked crossing her arms.

"About what would happen if you changed deliberately into the demon. I told you that you would most likely end up in a hospital bed. Didn't I?" he asked.

"I guess."

"I don't know if it's finally puberty catching on, but I think you're starting to change… whether for better or worse I'm not sure of yet." He said.

Kisa smiled, she was changing before his eyes and he didn't realize it.

"Have Tohru-chan take you shopping… better yet Rin-chan. I heard what you wanted to do just before I came in, and I think that it's a wonderful idea. You should try out some new things, see what it's like to be bad." He said, nearly making Kisa fall off the bed.

Apparently he did know.

"You _agree_?" she sputtered.

"Why not? Think it's good you're going to rid yourself of that horrid school uniform. I know that Rin will help anyway, so you'll be all set by the time you're a week out of here." He said smiling.

"Rin-chan ignores me, why would she help me?" Kisa asked slowly.

"Because, she knows what you're going through." He answered and stood, "as for me, I'm going to leave you in the hands of these very capable doctors and nurses," he looked at the one standing in the doorway staring at him, "until Tuesday."

"What happens on Tuesday?" she asked.

"We get you out of here is what happens." He answered smiling, and Kisa swore the nurse swooned.

"You've still got it." Kisa laughed.

"Got what?" he asked, faking confusion.

Kisa smiled, Hatori knew damn well what he was doing, he knew so damn well.

**0o0**

Rin picked her up on Tuesday, wrinkling her nose at Kisa's school uniform. She took her out to the convertible she'd just bought from her new job as a model. Apparently it paid well because the car was brand new.

"Get in, it's not going to bite." Rin said, hopping over the door and into the driver's seat.

"Oh…" Kisa replied flustered, and opened the door.

Before she even had on her seatbelt Rin was pulling away from the curb, wheels squealing.

"I swore I'd never go into a hospital again," Rin told her as the roof retracted when drops of rain began to fall.

A mid-spring shower, Kisa thought.

"Really?" Kisa asked.

"Ever since I was released, I swore I would never go back." She sighed, "But I guess not all promises are meant to be kept."

"Huh?"

"Well," Rin explained, "haven't you ever made a promise you couldn't keep? Even if you could, it just backfires on you?"

"No, I keep all my promises." Kisa answered.

Rin snorted, "Right, like that'll work on me. I know when someone is lying, Kisa-chan, and you're terrible at it. Didn't you just promise that you'd go bad?"

Kisa gawked at her.

"That's already a broken promise I can guarantee." She continued, "But I'll help you because I know what it's like." Her knuckles gripped the wheel tighter. "I know because I did the same thing."

Kisa looked at her, "Really?"

"Don't be an idiot, of course!"

"Wow. Was that when…?"

"Yes, when Hatsuharu-san and I broke up." She muttered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know." She said

"You're lying again." Rin sighed, "I know that it's hard not to lie, but you have to. Sometimes it's not even a thought, we just lie, and that catches up to us. If you want to succeed at changing you have to be honest and tell it like you see it."

"Like an umpire?" Kisa suggested.

"No, you have to be blunt."

"I don't know…"

"Oh c'mon," she exclaimed, "tell me what you think of my outfit today. If you're going to be blunt you have to tell the truth, therefore, I will know when you're lying."

"You'll get mad at me."

"I get mad at everyone." Rin pointed out.

"Umm… well, it's kind of…" Kisa said studying the mini skirt and heels.

"Kind of what? Be blunt, it's your first lesson." She snapped.

"Well, it looks a little trashy." She said quickly.

Rin screeched the car off to the side and looked around panicked.

"IT'S WHAT?" she exclaimed angrily.

"Umm… nothing." Kisa said looking out the window.

Rin laughed, "Lesson number two, never change your answer. If you're going to tell it the way it is, you have to stick with your answer. Don't change it the second someone blows up, get a back bone!"

"Oh… Well it _is_ kind of trashy."

"Really?" she asked looking down at her blouse, "I guess I'll have to buy some clothes too when we go shopping."

"We're going shopping?" Kisa gasped.

"Duh, I just said that." Rin sighed, and pulled into traffic again, "We're headed to the mall, and _no_ uniforms. We're buying you some clothes that are cool."

"But I want to bad."

"You're such a dork, Kisa-chan," she said grinning; something Kisa had never seen her do before.

It looks good on her, a smile… everyone looks good with a smile, Kisa thought quietly.

**0o0**

Kisa and Rin entered a giant department store and Kisa looked around eagerly, but Rin dragged her out the door the second she saw the depressed sales clerk.

"Why did we just leave?" Kisa asked.

"Lesson three, when you're going shopping find a store with people that are _alive_. The guy in there was counting the seconds to his lunch break." Rin answered, flipping her long dark hair over her shoulder.

"Guys are staring at you."

"Get used to it. They'll be doing that to you when I'm finished." She said smirking, and entering another store.

The clerk was waiting at the door and had on a giant grin, and no sooner had they walked in Rin was dragging her out.

"What was wrong with that one?" Kisa demanded.

"Too peppy, she was fake. Get someone that's real and alive, not dead or a mile wide smile. I hate people like that, therefore the next lesson: never do drugs. I know I sound like a police officer, but I mean it. Drugs mess with your body and your mind, I would know, I've tried them so don't do them. When you go to a club, especially one with kids your age, there is going to be drugs, so whatever you do, _don't_ take anything from someone that you don't know, or take something you didn't see get made."

"Ugh, you sound like my mother."

"There we go! Getting some attitude!" Rin shouted, enjoying when Kisa squirmed as people turned their direction.

"Rin-chan," she hissed.

"What, it's not like you're ever going to see any of these people again. But I'm serious about the whole drug thing, they're bad Kisa-chan, really bad."

Kisa saw the look in her eyes and knew that she wasn't lying to scare her, she was telling the truth.

"Okay, I won't do drugs." Kisa promised, and hoped that Rin would know that she was telling the truth.

She smiled, "Hurry up, this store is always a winner."

She entered a smaller store that had all sorts of expensive looking things on the rack. Kisa looked on as the woman behind the counter smiled at them, genuinely happy for customers.

"Can I help you with anything Rin-chan?" she asked coming out.

Kisa noticed that she was inspecting both Rin and her.

"Yes, we need to get her a whole new wardrobe." Rin told the woman, taking a seat and watching as she took Kisa into the back.

"Okay, well what size are you?" she asked turning to Kisa.

"Umm…"

"I'm only trying to help, don't be afraid."

"I'm a size seven." Kisa told her sheepishly.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, I've had women come in here that are a size sixteen. Being a size seven is good, it's healthy." She said picking out three shirts and four pairs of pants.

She led Kisa into a fitting room and waited patiently as Kisa changed into a short skirt with a lower cut shirt. The skirt was just denim and above her knees, and the light colored shirt had lace up to her collarbone, though her cleavage showed through.

"Oh! Simply adorable!" the woman exclaimed as she stepped out.

Rin walked over and looked at her, "Can we get some darker colors though? She was telling me that she wants to go '_bad_'."

"Oh! So this is Kisa-chan!" the lady exclaimed, "Rin-chan, you have one large project ahead of you."

"I know, but I think that she can do it." Rin replied, politely smiling.

"Okay, well I'll get out the clothes I think that you would like to see on her, then we'll let her have the final say in what she's going to buy."

"Sounds fair enough." Rin shrugged, and Kisa nodded slowly.

The woman disappeared into the back again and returned, her arms laden with things for Kisa to try on.

"Here," she said, handing her a black tank top with a skull embroidered on it, "I think this will look good with your hair."

She also handed her two striped shirts with lower necklines than Kisa thought comfortable, but tried on anyway. Each time she came out Rin either nodded or didn't, determining which pile it would go in.

By the end of the afternoon Kisa's closet had been doubled, and her school uniforms "altered" as Rin called it when she had returned home.

"Look," she said, "if you want a higher hemline, just roll the skirt up, which is what you're going to be doing from now on."

"Why?"

"As an experiment."

"What kind of experiment?"  
"To see what people say behind your back, when they see you in this." Rin explained, "Now I also know for a fact that next week is dress-down week so you _must_ wear your new clothes. I don't want this school uniform crap anymore."

Kisa smiled, "You got it."


End file.
